According to a recent study, people with high fitness during their middle ages are significantly less likely to die from heart diseases in later life even if they were diagnosed with depression.

Best fitness plan: Crossfit, yoga and walking, say fitness experts, benefit everybody, irrespective of what age they start exercising. (Shutterstock)

It is important to be fit at all ages. A lot of people make fitness a part of their lifestyle from early on and reap the many benefits of it. But it’s never too late. People who take up fitness even in middle age can benefit from it. According to a recent study, people with high fitness during their middle ages are significantly less likely to die from heart diseases in later life even if they were diagnosed with depression, researchers including one of Indian-origin suggested.

The study, published in the journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, found that participants with high fitness were 56% less likely to die from heart diseases following a depression diagnosis. Depression has been linked to several other chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity and chronic kidney disease, but taking anti-depressants are likely to help.

Here’s how you can stay fit

Crossfit

According to Shivoham, head coach at Shivfit, a CrossFit studio and Reebok Fitness Ambassador, “Just like any other fitness program, Crossfit too benefits people with high blood pressure and diabetes. Any program, to be affective requires consistency and because CrossFit programs are competitive and different, people are more regular with their trainings. They actually look forward to their workouts.”

Yoga

Suitable for all groups, yoga is a great way to stay fit. “The evidence of its effectiveness is in yogis who have been lean and healthy for centuries. In fact, the weight loss yoga trends like hot yoga and hath yoga are all based on the traditional form of yoga,” says Dr Partap Chauhan, director Jiva Ayurveda.

Walking

According to Shivani Patel, fitness expert and founder of Scupltasse, “Walking and cycling is beneficial for people who may have existing heart conditions. Stationary cycling training is an effective intervention for increasing the balance and gait abilities.”